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Friday, September 11, 2009

Today's entry comes from Plain(s) Feminist, who previously contributed to 50 Books for Problematic Times here and here. Plain(s) Feminist has been blogging about feminism and other stuff since 2006. She lives in Minnesota, teaches Women's Studies, and is mom to Bean and a couple of peeing cats.

Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldua

Allison and Anzaldua carved out a space for people who don't neatly fit into the little identity politics boxes of sexual identity, racial identity, ethnic identity, etc. These are controversial books; Allison's defense of porn and Anzaldua's writing in Spanish for a portion of the book are things that have challenged some of my peers and students upon first reading. I love them for taking firm stances and claiming what might be (or, were) unpopular ground in some circles, and in doing so, making space for all of us to fit in and be named and be whole.

"Anzaldua, a Chicana native of Texas, explores in prose and poetry the murky, precarious existence of those living on the frontier between cultures and languages. Writing in a lyrical mixture of Spanish and English that is her unique heritage, she meditates on the condition of Chicanos in Anglo culture, women in Hispanic culture, and lesbians in the straight world. Her essays and poems range over broad territory, moving from the plight of undocumented migrant workers to memories of her grandmother, from Aztec religion to the agony of writing. Venting her anger on all oppressors of people who are culturally or sexually different, the author has produced a powerful document that belongs in all collections with emphasis on Hispanic American or feminist issues." (Library Journal)

Please note:

All writing here copyright Rachel McCarthy James, 2009-2011 (unless otherwise noted). The views expressed here are solely my own; my writing has nothing to do with any of my employers or associates, former or current.